Solamatrix Sponsors Courage Polar Bear Dip to Support World Vision

  New Year’s Day typically brings new feelings of hope with renewed self-promises and resolutions. In that same light, hundreds of people in Canada will jump into the frigid and icy waters of Lake Ontario raising money to bring clean water to the people of Tanzania. The goal is to give clean water to more than 95% of families in the region who must use unsafe wells or draw their drinking water from polluted ponds.

This is all part of the annual Courage Polar Bear Dip in Oakville, Ontario, Canada – a charitable event organized by the owners of Courage Distributing. The 26th Annual Polar Bear Dip will take place on January 1, 2011 in an effort to raise $100K towards the Manonga Water and Sanitation Project which will bring clean water and improved health to the community of Manonga, Tanzania. Funds raised this year will complete the project in Mononga.

Solamatrix, manufacturers of the popular Sun-Gard solar control window films and Glass-Gard safety and security films, is proud to be annual sponsors of the event. “Courage Distributing is one of our closest business partners and we are happy to support Todd and Trent along with the many volunteers that work tirelessly to help those in need,” says Angie Howard, marketing communications manager.

Todd Courage explains, “Over three million people, two thirds of these children, die around the world every year from drinking contaminated water. Trent and I had the opportunity to visit the Kahi Water Project in Rwanda last year and observed the impact that clean water has on a community for not just drinking but cooking, cleaning, manufacturing, agriculture, and environmental sustainability.”

Todd continues, “Water really is the ‘essence of life’ and we applaud our sponsors like Solamatrix who help make an enormous impact on so many lives.”

This year, ten year old Adam Mills has organized a “polar cub” group of friends to help raise awareness. Adam has created a Twitter page dedicated to raising awareness for the Manonga Water project in Tanzania and has developed quite a following. According to the brave youngster, “I enjoy jumping in the cold water because it’s a good cause and raises money for water projects. It makes me feel good because it helps to make other kids happy to get fresh water.”

Net proceeds from the Courage Polar Bear Dip have been given to World Vision Canada since 1995. In that time over $660,000 has been raised and has funded water projects around the world. Last year, a record-breaking year, brought in $230,000 to the Kahi Water Project in Rwanda, while also fully funding a water project in Kenya AND create an opportunity to start another clean water project in Tanzania!

According to the Polar Dip website: “All life depends on water. On this the 26th anniversary of the Courage Polar Bear Dip, please give generously so that children and the families in Manonga can access clean water, a valuable resource we often take for granted……you can make a difference.” To help support the project, please click here. For more information, check out the Related Links below or email info@polarbeardip.ca.

Related Links:
Follow Polar Dip on Facebook
Follow Polar Dip on Twitter
Polar Cub Adam Mills on YouTube

How Window Tint and Proper Lighting Can Help Protect Sea Turtles

Protecting and preserving sea turtles is an impassioned movement throughout the world. Florida, in particular, has implemented several ordinances in order to help further protect sea turtles from a variety of factors that lead to their decline.

In coastal communities, sea turtles crawl onto the beach at night and lay their nests. These spectacular creatures are naturally drawn towards the light of the horizon from the reflection off the water. As beachfront communities have developed, the artificial lighting confuses the sea turtles, ultimately disorienting them. Because this attraction to light is instinctive, emerging hatchlings also become quickly disoriented.

As these sea turtles head towards the light source intended to lead them back to the ocean, they get confused and head towards street lights and glowing lights from store fronts and residences. This confusion deters the sea turtles from nesting and can lead to an unnecessary death for these endangered creatures by getting preyed upon by fire ants, ghost crabs and birds, hit by cars, or dehydrated.

The Florida Model Lighting and Marine Turtle Protection ordinance, was created with the intent to establish guidelines to help protect wayward sea turtles in coastal areas from the affects of artificial lighting and to help improve the overall nesting habitats for sea turtles and their hatchlings. This ordinance includes proper lighting and the use of window tint to shield light transmission from store fronts and residences.

In addition to the beachfront lighting regulations, the ordinance requires that: “Tinted glass shall be installed on all windows and glass doors of single or multi-story structures within line-of-sight of the beach.”

Specifics to the definition of tinted glass includes: “…any glass treated to achieve an industry-approved, inside-to-outside light transmittance value of 45% or less and limited to the visible spectrum.”

  If you find yourself in a coastal town, there are ways to help! By turning off any unnecessary lights, closing windows and blinds and refraining from using flashlights or camera flashes, you are contributing to the preservation of these magnificent creatures.

If you live or work beachfront, take simple steps to plant vegetation which will buffer the light source and the beach. Also, apply professional window tint to your home or business. The professional application of window film, such as Sun-Gard, will keep the light on the inside of your home or business from brightly transmitting through the windows.

According to an article written by Katherine Butler on the Coastal Protection of Sea Turtles in Florida, “the artificial beachfront lighting problem may be the most manageable of the human-caused sea turtle disturbances.”

 Globally, there are seven species of sea turtles that are listed under the Endangered Species Act. Threats to sea turtles today include the harvesting of their eggs for human consumption, entanglement and entrapment in fishing gear, ingestion of litter and coastal development.

For more information on sea turtle preservation and how you can help, visit the NOAA Office of Protected Species. Read more about the Florida Model Lighting Ordinance for Marine Turtle Protection here.

Glass-Gard Offers Security and Protection to Small Business Owners

Owning a small business requires safeguarding your office space with the utmost protection and security measures to protect valuables, products, equipment and files from theft, weather or structure damage. The risk of personal injury due to a glass-related accident should also weigh heavy on the mind of any business or property owner.

Glass-Gard Safety and Security films are specially designed to help hold a broken pane of glass together, keeping dangerous shards attached to the film’s adhesive system. Acting as a thin barrier, Glass-Gard helps prevent flying shards of razor sharp glass from becoming a danger reducing risk of physical injury or damage to the interior.

In the unfortunate event of a theft or burglary, Glass-Gard also makes it possible to slow down the chance of the intruder’s breaking and entering. This type of security film is also an attractive alternative to window security bars. The film is virtually invisible, so the intruder won’t know it’s there until he has taken a swipe at the glass – a hard enough swipe will break the glass but Glass-Gard will make it much more difficult for the thief to get in.

Nonprofit consumer safety organizations advocate these safety and security films as an effective way of protecting against glass-related injuries. Whether you are concerned about sustaining damage from a natural disaster or simply wanting some protection against criminal activity, Glass-Gard films are a smart solution to protecting your small business.

How does the Glass-Gard technology work? Engineered with powerful adhesives, Glass-Gard is a thin, clear, polyester film which is laminated to the interior surface of your windows or doors. When professionally installed, this clear product provides lasting protection that you can’t even see. However, Glass-Gard is also available in tinted and metallized versions offering added benefits such as increased privacy, protection from glare and ultraviolet light, reduced energy consumption and a uniform appearance to your home or building.

John Maguire, of Maguire’s Printing in St. Petersburg, Florida, entrusts his small business with Glass-Gard Clear, 4 mil. “Someone with tremendous strength threw a brick at our shop window with such force that not only did it go through the window, but across the room before embedding itself in the wall! Although the brick went through the Glass-Gard film, it still held the glass in place, setting off our alarm and summoning the police.”

By utilizing a unique technology in its development, many of our Glass-Gard films meet the rigorous standards established by the Dade County Small Missile Test, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the American National Standards Institute and numerous other safety test standards all over the world.

Glass-Gard is trusted by home owners, building owners, property managers, government facilities, store owners, schools, hospitals and law enforcement. Glass-Gard is backed by industry-leading warranties.

Glass-Gard is offered in a variety of shades and weights to meet your specific needs. Click on the different types below to learn more.

Glass-Gard Century – Our all-metallized premium line of film
Glass-Gard Solar Safety – Combines glass breakage protection with solar control benefits
Glass-Gard Clear – Glass breakage protection that won’t change the appearance of your windows
Glass-Gard AG – An exterior application that protects surfaces from permanent damage caused by vandalism